Chapter 6 - War Eternal - IC

The Luna Wolf said nothing as Hydrako went through his bizarre ritual. In a sense, it was nothing Iovanus hadn't seen before--he had heard tales of the Word Bearers and Blood Angels performing certain rituals with blood--however he still couldn't help but feel a measure of discomfort in the act. What he was more uncomfortable with was taking orders from a Space Marine of unknown descent, working towards a goal that he knew nothing about.
He was not one to question an Astartes in Terminator Armour, however, for only respected veterans were ever granted the right to possession of the Tactical Dreadnought Armour that made Astartes even more terrifying than they already were. Hydrako would have his obedience...for now, at least.

"By your orders, squad leader."

[Bleda and Lucius]

Bleda nods in agreement with Lucius and started to move.

"On the way then."

Sylphilis wrote:

She/he moves to Sapiens and peers over his shoulder, interrupting his work. "And just what are you so intent on? ooooh, reverse engineering. I dont think you have that kind of time on your hands. M'ra is due to waken soon by the phase of this place. Im thinking a few hours at most."

Sapiens removed his helmet, and whispered:

Which is why I was trying to re-trace his command code & wipe our presence. Track its location while the rest keep them distracted

Turning to seraphan:

And avoid electro-magnetic signals. In any case, I did not succeed, so we should go. Have you managed to scout out the area, Rillietann? I know these halls can be massive, and extend into other dimensions.

She sneers, "I have placed pheromonic tracers on Muse, yourself, and the scarred one. Its how I found you. Muse is the one who spends her time playing in the tomb ships. That's how I found you"

Serephan made his report, "I found several exits from this place. Where they go is anyone's guess."

***

Lucius and Bleda find Tomasu and Cassiel holding the narrow passage against a new foe. This knew foe had 1/2 meter long bladed forearms, or razor's for fingers, and they screamed. The screaming was a piecing wail that screeched at your ears, and in stark contrast to the dead silence exuded by the rest of these soulless.

Tomasu was huffing towards the entrance, his breath was powerful enough to knock bodies down and cover the first rank in flurries. While he did that, Cassiel poured round after round into them. His main weapon, the missile launcher, was unsuitable for the task in the provided terrain. What Tomasu and Cassiel were in need of was high rate mass reactive bolter fire.....

Lucius moves into position with a practiced ease and immediately begins supporting his brothers, laying his fire on top of Cassiel's.

The Hesh bolter bucked as round after round spat out mass-reactive death at the new foe. The weapon was an antique, a gift from Ultramarine Chaplain Ortan Cassius after Lucius' Novamarines helped hold the line on Macragge at Cold Steel Ridge against the ravenous Tyranids.

The weapon was a masterpiece. Hard black with gilded edging, it simply never failed. The motion predictor sight lined up against Lucius' unhelmeted eye, predicting where the target would be. Round after round found their marks.

"Reloading," called out Lucius just before he fired his second to last round. This would give the others time to keep up the fire. Their coordination would mean that no single second was spent in a lull. The destruction would not let up.

Only when the screaming had stopped and bodies stopped moving did the Novamarine lower the muzzle of the hallowed weapon.

"It's good of you two to bring friends," he smiled at the new arrivals.

Bleda joined his brothers in storm of metal which hit the enemy. Controlled bursts wrecked havoc on the targets as the combination of marksmanship and the destructive power of the Astartes bolters settled this matter.

Hydrako stared hovering at the xenos, a deadpan expression enveloping his features. Yes. I seem to be collecting many, at the moment. He continued as they moved out, following the Space Wolf. Where were you skulking, creature? How do you know the traitors are following us?

As they continued on through the collection, Hydrako listened for enemies or Draco members. There was no real direction to take except forward.

"Strange place, this, but plenty of enemies to kill." Cassiel was relieved that Draco was being reconnected. With no idea how large this place was, the possibility that they never met up again had been worming through the back of his mind. Ultimately, he know that stopping the awakening was paramount, but didn't have a clue how to make that happen.

Ur'iss guides you out of the damaged menagerie through obsidian-black corridors and great halls lined with what could only be described as workbenches. On these benches lay damaged soulless of the kind you hard already dispatched and some that you have not. Even a walker vehicle larger than Brother ambrose was in a state of dormancy. What wasn't dormancy was the mass of tiny, beetle-like soulles that crawled all over every surface of the damaged units. They were clearly fixing the damaged units. Working on the larger one was a massive hovering robot with multiple appendages that each ended in tools of unknown design.
"Do not attack." Ur'iss warns. "They are set to focus on repairing the hundreds of warriors we've already put down. They will ignore us as long as we do not attack."
Sensing that Hydrako and Grimnir did not like leaving the 'medics' to repair them and send them back at you, she adds, "once we are done here they will pose no threat." You leave from there and into an impossibly large assembly area. Rows upon rows, as far as the eye could see, extend into the distance. The warriors stood lifeless.
"they are in here, Ignore the activation units here too, but dont get too close or they will attack us."Ur'iss warns as she leads you through the phalanxes of warriors.
Here, Hydrako and Grimnir could see just what kind of threat this xenos could really pose. The warriors were hardy, with various models that only got stronger. They had vehicles and the weapons they used stripped armor and flesh to the bone. The prospect of fighting this faction was a terrifying prospect, it would in no doubt shatter the already struggling achilus crusade.

Finally, you spot Serepham, Sapiens and Muse near signs of recent fighting.
"I wondered how long it would take you to find me." Muse chimes, to which Ur'is only sneers.
"The chaos followers have altered the timetable scryyed by the farseers. They are more advanced then we were led to believe." Muse says.

Serephan give a nod to Hydrako and Grimnir.

***

With the sudden help from Bleda and Lucius, Tomasu dropped his strange wind power and took the point, dispatching those closest while you gun the rest down. With the last dispatched, 14 of them clog the passageway. What you notice immediately was that they did not disappear via teleportation as had the rest. They were different in many aspect from the soulless you had fought so far.

"Thats one reason we brought the xenos." he replied to Cassiel, "They have that knowledge, but need our muscle to stop this awakening."

Turning his attention to Bleda and Lucius, he says, "A timely arrival. The ancestors guide our steps. Have you found any other members of your kill team?

Lucius shook his head.

"No, you are the first. We dispatched some heavily armored versions of the robots with power lances and jump packs, fighting on a long bridge over a chasm before making it here. We've took some samples and then ran into you. Moving forward is the safest bet right now."

Bleda did not take the news of their reliance on Xenos with a smile.

"What exactly is the nature of the knowledge they have that we need to secure victory?"

"And can it be acquired by eating them?"

Bleda chuckles at the suggestion.

"It would make things easier for us."

Tomasu shrugs.
"Some ancient pact between the ordos xenos and some eldar faction called the 'conclave of tears' They called in some debts to some long dead inquisitor to take us as muscle for this."

"I should have figured the Inquisition was involved to drag us into this farce."

With a sigh Bleda continues.

"We should probably move and see if we can either find the rest of the Kill Team or the Xenos."

Bleda didn't have to be specific about who "the Xenos" meant.

Lucius smiled at the part about eating them. Hydrako had very much rubbed off on the Novamarine since joining the Deathwatch; while it was by no means frowned upon within the Ultramarines' more barbaric kin, Lucius hadn't used the ability to such an extent before joining Draco.

Naturally assuming that command would fall to him, he nodded at Bleda's suggestion. "Pressing on has worked in our favor so far. Until we link up with Draco or make contact with the enemy, gather as much intelligence as possible. Priority one is still preventing these Soulless from awakening. Killing the archenemy will be a nice bonus."

Hydrako took in the ranks of soulless as they progressed, but quickly ignored them at the alien's mention of slumber. They pressed on until they found Seraphan and Sapiens, being led by the other xenos. What have you found out? he asked simply

Tomasu points to the entrance filled with dead Xenos. "That direction is a ruined city. Its crwaling with those screaming things. We can either go through there or back across the bridge you mentioned......"

****

With Ur'iss having the only bead on the rest of the squad, she leads the way. She spoke of pheromonal tracers, but however she traced it was a mystery, as she used no handheld device and her face was a strenched skin mask. She leads you from what she called the "phalanx catacombs" with something akin to knowledge of the area. Leaving there she enters something she is altogether less familiar with. It was a ruined xenos city. Black stone walls crumbled into piles of rubble at the base of freestanding walls.
All the while, Muse hums some a xenos tune of annoying origin.
In the distance, savage screams were heard that set Grimnir's hair on edge. Its unholy clamor brought up memories of the predator's hunting him through the snowy wilds of Fenris.

****

The empty streets and throughways were mathematical and geometric. Brutally efficient and evident of high techno sorcery of ages past, they were now empty and lifeless. The screams in the distance were further away here then they were at the entrance to the xenos ruins. The further they travled the further away the screaming was. Whatever those things were, they were staying clear of this area.

****

After half an hour of listening to Muse's incessant hum, Hydrako hears a chime from his power armor that says something new is detected. He checks his command link to find he armor has a link to Lucius and Bleda once again.....

****
You stop at the sight. All the roads led you here, the center of this city. At its center was a ziggurat that towered over the area. it was a microcosm of the black pyramid that brought you here. A single walkway of stairs leads to the top. The top itself was flat, but the only thing you could make out from this angle was a shrine or throne dais of some sort at the top. What drew your attention more was the form of the technomancer as he scurried up the steps, protected by his own bodyguards. Ducking into cover, your vox crackles with the voices of the rest of Draco.....

Hydrako murmured into his gorget, hailing Bleda and the Novamarine. Lucius, Bleda, what is your position? We are approaching the centre of the city complex and have spotted the Technomancer. He sheathed his powersword to draw the stormbolter, opting for range weapons may prove useful again. He then glanced at the dark eldar, what is at the top creature? Is this what you seek?

Ur'iss looks to the top of the Ziggurat with her cold, dead eyes.
"I do believe that is what we seek. The high phaeron, M'ra the undying is there. If we can do enough damage to his command dais, it will force him back into hibernation, it will give us another 2 to 3 hundred years to prepare for their arrival, or deny his next attempt."

Lucius clicked back immediately. "Copy, brother. Approaching ruined city center. Eyes on central ziggurat. Approaching from the **give most accurate directionality here**; Bleda, Tomasu, and Cassiel in tow. Eyes on priority target - leader element of some sort."

He awaited the response. Hydrako had the lead of Draco at the moment, but if they could hit from two different vantage points, they would have the element of surprise and take the initiative.

Hydrako nodded sharply at Ur'iss as Lucius reported back over the vox. A plan was forming in his mind. The Technomancer is trying to reach its command dais at the top. We need to take the high ground. He uttered in response before switching to the squad wide vox. Draco, the Phaeron is trying to reach our priority target, the command dais, at the top of the temple. We need to destroy the dais to defeat the xenos. All those with jump packs will fly with me to head of the stairs and pin it in place. The rest of you will lay down fire into their rear and split their attention. For the Emperor... With the order given, he stood up out of cover, surveyed his party once to check their readiness, and took off into the air.

The orders were given. Lucius trusted Bleda, Tomasu, and Cassiel to absolutely light up the world. Two powerful psykers and a devastator was a thing to behold.

He pulled a krak grenade from his belt and burned off on his jump pack in a high arc. With the Draco Back Banner flying proudly in the wind, he would come down and slam the ordnance into the machine just as his battle-brothers began lighting up the Necron.

Lucius flies into the air to get a better idea of what they are up against. He gains an altitude of 60m and can clearly see down on the top of the ziggurat. Had he been wearing his helmet, the machine spirit would have highlighted several immediately identifiable threats but there was little need.

Lucius sees the Technomancer clear the stairs to the top of the zigguraut, flanked by 4 of his guards.
He takes two steps forwards and kneels before what could only be the dais. It was a crescent shaped structure with a single overhead, crested strut. Just inside the inside of the crests sit some attendants, but its unclear what role they play. Behind them, just in front of a command console/throne was the phaeron. He was hunched over, like the technomancer and covered in what appeared to be linen wraps and over that was a tattered red cloth. Its head was inside a deep hood, but Lucius could still make out pale green eyes. He carried no weapon that you can see. It looked old and worn down compared to the others. Lucius was certain he had corrosion in the deeper recesses but could not confirm until getting closer.
The technomancer was just as his hologram from before, hunched under a green tattered cloth. A double bladed poleaxe in hits hand.


What was spoken you could not say from here with the background noise, but you could tell that there was an exchange between them as the phaeron expressed displeasure with the wave of its arm.
They turn towards you, alerted to your presence, it wasn't hard to see why. The ruins were as quiet as the void, and the jump pack was not. Perhaps your intrusion was the reason from the apparent deriding of the technomancer? Then almost imperceptibly, the dais moves. It was an anti-grav throne of some sort. It had the microcircutry that beamed with the redundant eerie green glow. The guards look to you. One of them were the same halberd and teleport pack guys you fought on the bridge. The other three were larger than the standard warrior and carried a ranged weapon, of what kind you could not say. They had a blue glow to contrast with the green of everything else. Arcs of power lanced from the guns and even between the warriors as if they were conduits for the weapons power. They moved into a firing position.....

Hydrako launched into the air to reach the top of the ziggurat. It was apparent that they weren't going to be able to head off the party at the crest, but it didn't matter. He and Lucius would form a beachead until the others arrived. As they cleared the top and disappeared from the view of those on the ground, he voxed on the squad channel in Draco cant. Six hostiles. The Phareon looks weakened. Bodyguards forming a firing line. Draco, move to the top in support, with all haste.

Iovanus had, for the most part, silently followed Hydrako's orders and lead up until now, save for a few quiet mumblings when he was certain the squad's attention wasn't focused on him. In a way, he was relieved that their attention was on the mission at hand--if the stories were true, there's every chance that he would be killed on sight. But the new sights, sounds and scents that he was taking in were slowly proving difficult to bear--the arrival of extremely dangerous automatons only compounded his anxiety. Never before had Iovanus felt so alone.
"Am I to assume that my orders are to destroy these xenos?" Iovanus asked, to no-one in particular.

Sapiens agreed with Uri'ss interpretation-the Phaeron was not yet fully activated. He started searching the space for power conduits (to de-power or overload local systems) and for sensitive systems that could be sabotaged.
Sapiens notes that the surround structures, if they could be called that, were freestanding walls barely 1m tall and simple piles of rubble. The ziggurat stood tall and pristine over this blasted city-zone. There were no conduits or cabling of any sort Sapuens could see that would disrupt the machine. That did also mean that any power the Ziggurat had was most likely self contained.

Grimnir sprinted forward, his speed startling for one not in power armour. Noticing the son of Kharn hot on his heels he flashed him a backwards glance and a pointed toothed grin and surged forward. It was a friendly challenge, even a petty one but still the wolf relished it. He knew that that Tomasu knew that it would be no contest if they were evenly armoured.

Tomasu was hot on the wolf scout's heels. He almost treated it like a race to the top, an endurance test worthy of the sons of the khan. He begins his ascent up the steps just as Grimnir does the same, trailing behind only by the slightest of margins.

Serephan takes to the sky on Hydrako's order. The truth was he was itching for a fight worthy of a blood angel. All the skulking about the jungle and xenos-alliance-nonsense had him on edge and hewas ready to work it off.
---I see the enemy. Is that the command throne? I dont think its a part of the structure.---

Bleda run IC

Lucius and Hydrako would be the breach, and they would hold until Draco arrived. He spotted the dais as he held position in the air. The krak grenade was in his hand as the jump pack blasted him toward it. He leveraged his weight and speed, punching his bionic, armored arm straight into the mechanism. He made sure it was buried before triggering the explosive and pulling himself free amidst these enemies.
"For Kill Team Draco, the Primarchs, and the Emperor!" His voice bellowed as the krak detonated nearby.
The grenade blasts off the side of the dais, shifting it back slightly. At this range and angle, Lucius could now see that the dais was not just some mobile plinth as it looked from the sky. Instead, it was a full fledged command vehicle, like ancient chariots driven into battle by the nation's ruler. Lucius knew right away that there was a force field protecting the vehicle, but it was not like an imperial shield technology, this field simply reduced the concussive force of weapons against it. It also has 2 underslung heavy weapons, of what nature Lucius could not be too sure.


Cassiel Run IC



Initiative
Hydrako- 20 -
Iovanus - 16 -
Sapiens - 14 -
Undying Legionnaire (2) - 14 -
Grimnir - 13 -
Tomasu - 13 -
Undying legionnaire (3) - 13 -
M'ra the Decrepit - 13 -
Serephan - 12 -
Bleda - 11 -
Lucius - 10 -
Technomancer - 10 -
Praetorian - 10 -
Cassiel - 8
Undying Legionnaire (1) - 7 -

Hydrako could feel the rest of the squad swarm up the ziggurat as he took to the sky. As he reached the top of his flight arc, he felt a pause in time before the pull of gravity drew him back to earth. It took a moment for him to scan area for targets and locate the dais their xenos ally had described. That and the engine flare from Lucius' own turbines as he streaked forwards with krak in hand. He expected to see a rent appear in the skin of the throne, but when the krak bounced away he knew there was more than met the eye. His nostrils flared in irritation, and his teeth ground together, starting a fresh flow of blood. Gravity's hold took over then and would not be denied.
Lucius' attack had given Hydrako an opening to exploit. While the creature was pre-occupied with the Nova Marine, it was no longer watching the sky. If it was, it would see the pale death spearing down as a comet from the void. Hydrako twisted in his fall and became a streaking bolt of retribution cast from the Emperor's own hand. He led with his shoulder and struck the dais in a flash of light with the kinetic energy of a meteor striking earth. The dais was rocked back by the combined impact of the Carcharodon and the ordinance he carried. It was his godslayer weapon and he would see the construct reduced to slag.
The dais was engulfed by a cascading fireball that washed over the ziggurat. Intense heat and blast force knock Hydrako, Lucius, and Serephan to their knees. Hydrako and Lucius have to screw their eyes shut to avoid retinal burnout. Serephan's autosenses did the work for him.

When the light dimmed to a manageable setting, the top of the pyramid was littered with scattered bits of charred metal. Of the phareon, M'ra the undying, there was no sign.
The nearest heavy warrior was on the ground and not getting up. The halberd bodyguard was taking up a position between you and the technomancer. The last heavy warrior was silently hoisting itself up to its feet.
"Galactic filth." the technomancer hisses with no small threat.
It waves its hand before it and begins to poke at the air with a digit. What it saw you nor any sense you possessed could tell, but it worked furiously at the air. Then bringing its arm back to its double headed scythe, it give you a single final warning.
"Your pitiful display here will only incur our wrath, M'ra will return at the head of a legions you cannot hope to match."

With that, the tops of the zigguraut was bathed in empyric green light. When it returned to normal, all the soulless were gone, leaving a scarred field and you.
Only a second passes before the entire structure starts to rumble, suddenly the pyramid doesnt seem like the safest place to be......

As the command chariot explodes, Tomasu and Grimnir are hit by the heat wave as they see the top they were so ready to charge erupt in concussive annihilation. Grimnir looks back to Tomasu and vice versa. Niether of them knew each other or Draco well, but something sudden and unexpected had happened.....

Iovanus, Cassiel, Bleda, and Sapiens halted their charge, testing the vox, you find that there was a screeching static from some sort of electo-fallout. After that, the top was bathed in an errie green light and then a violent tremor began to shake the entire xenos cityscape.


From behind you in the more covered city ruins, a circle of hellscape-light surrounds another scene, another reality. Tomasu and Bleda both had not picked up the sorcery, such was the skill of the ancient sorcerer casting the spell. Only now, with any immediate threat of the soulless gone can you now see the precarious situation you were almost in, caught between the soulless and the chaos-spawned denizens now flanking you.
It was he same group from before, a large hulking teminator in ancient cataphractii plate, his white eyes spoke of power at a terrible price.
Next to him was the same leader from before, A hand with long bladed talons clicked in anticipation at his side.
They had 6 attendants with them, veterans whose life span was near as old as the Imperium itself, chosen they called themselves. Of the two XX legionairres, one had a belt fed chaingun, another had a plasma gun and a power sword - the same ones you had seen before. Two of the unknown warband were clearly followers of the plague god, they carried rusty bolters and hoses covered with phlegm. Underneath the bulk was emperor knows what other kinds of weaponry.
The last two were followers of the god of excess, their armor was pierced with gaudy jewels and gold rings, and sonic weaponry they carried.

The strikemaster eyes the situation, and points to the nearest member of your band, Cassiel.
"We had a deal!" he bellows over the violent quake. "I will not forget your slight, Draco!"


"Recommend avoiding combat. Structure we are in is self-destructing and we have no identified egress-though I am seeking one. I would also reccomend recovering any whole, detached tech in our path for later study." Sapiens reported.
While he spoke, his auspex was sweeping outwards, trying to find an evacuation route.
Bleda replied, "It seems to me, brother Sapiens, that our exit lies through the traitors before us." Bleda eyes the Chaos Sorcerer, itching to put a pushed Smite into his face.
Iovanus was, to his detriment, all too quick to recognise the insignia of the Alpha Legion, even if their colours were off. Their sinister look, as well as the fact that the rest of Draco were even more on edge now, all but confirmed in his mind that Hydrako had, in fact, been telling the truth. Not that it made it any less of a shock to him, but a great deal of that shock instead quickly turned into anger.
"They had a sinister reputation even during the Crusade. But if what you all proclaim is true, then we should not let these traitors draw breath for a second more." Iovanus snarled like his legion's namesake, seemingly more eager for blood than any of them.
"Iovanus speaks true" Grimnir snarled into squad comms making his position clear. While conversation was had Grimnir checked over his stalker bolter; he removed the normal bolter mag and replaced it with a witchbolt mag into the weapons fire selector. He then started slowly walking down the steps looking for a decent area of cover that would give him sight of the enemies position.
Sapiens approached Grimnir and whispered in his ear.
"Brother, it seems the Eldar have concealed themselves nearby. They may have an alternate escape route that avoids these lengthy complications. Destroying the traitors is pointless if the ceiling fall on us before we escape. Being the most discreet, you are the best suited to track them down."
Bleda could scarcely believe his ears that Draco had in fact entered into negotiations with traitor Astartes in the past and did so now. The Eldar were bad but this...
Bleda would have to seek more information on this matter because "fraternizing" or negotiating with the arch-enemy was not something many would look kindly upon.
He glared a final time at the traitors and collected himself, still on edge and ready for the battle to begin at any moment.
"What are your orders, squad leader?"
It took a moment for Hydrako to recover his bearings after the impact of his attack on the Phaeron. He hadn't heard any of the chittering from its Acolyte, and as the ringing in his ears subsided he began to hear as well as feel the rumble of the crumbling structure. Draco, sound off, he hissed over the vox. But it only hissed back with static. He looked at Lucius and Seraphan as he got back to his feet, This whole Necropolis feels as though it's collapsing. We should gather the others and find an exit. He fired his engines and took off into the air, towards where he'd left the rest of Draco.
As he cleared the edge of the raised pyramid, he saw first the hulking mass of the terminator champion and then the wretched hides of the traitors he had parlayed with earlier. He could not hear what was spewing from the mouth of the Strikemaster, but assumed they were curses or protestations of some kind. To see him so angered pleased Hydrako. They had hit a nerve.
The second Hydrako guns his jet, the Strikemaster was done posturing.
He raises his lightning claws, the talon pointed in your direction.
"Kill them All!"


Initiative
Hydrako- 20 -
Iovanus - 16 -
Sapiens - 14 -
Undying Legionnaire (2) - 14 - VANISHED
Grimnir - 13 -
Tomasu - 13 -
Undying legionnaire (3) - 13 - VANISHED
M'ra the Decrepit - 13 -
---Dais of destruction - 13 - CRATERED
Serephan - 12 -
Bleda - 11 -
Lucius - 10 -
Technomancer - 10 - VANISHED
Praetorian - 10 - VANISHED
Cassiel - 8
Undying Legionnaire (1) - 7 - VANISHED

Hydrako watched the sweep of the lightening claws from the Strikemaster and knew they were under attack once more. Luckily he had sundered the Phaeron so easily. Otherwise Draco would have been caught between the hammer and the anvil.
His turbines blazed and carried him towards the Alpha Legionnaire. His goal would be to sever the head...
He makes it to the cover most of Draco was about to take cover behind, though he himself was midair.

Iovanus produced no noise as his face contorted to a snarl under his helmet, disgusted at the sight of these newly-found traitors. His rage was made manifest when he let his bolter scream into the air, sending a volley of shots towards the closest Legionnaire, before making his way forward to cover. A sudden realization dawned on him as his bolter howled at his foe: he had ten millennia of warfare to catch up on...and he couldn't wait. The shots were well placed, however, there was something in the speed of this....thing that Iovanus didn't expect. He moved as if the power armor was paper thing and weighed only an ounce. From it's vox grill a thin, wiry tongue flicks around.

Taking cue, the other pink tinted noise marine raised his esoteric weapon. It appeared more sound amplifier than actual weapon, but to noise marines they are on in the same.
Sound, raw, cacophonous and unfiltered assaulted Bleda, Cassiel, Iovanus and Sapiens ears. It was just the auditory nerves under assault, but the vibrations themselves rattled armor, shook sealing bolts loose, and threatening to tear coolant lines from their sockets.
Iovanus found himself under an nigh unbearable hail of sound. It assaulted his senses and caused even his teeth to shake in their sockets. You sense no pain, but know that the only way to get relief for this weaponized sound is to get something between you and the sound. Luckily, cover was just ahead.

Sapiens thought this was becoming tedious. Most chaos astartes where. Interesting to know that these astartes had wilingly collaborated with chaos-I would need to keep my eye on them. Still, there was some vicarious pleasure in facing these fools: their fondness for going without a helmet made their power armour's defenses meaningless. And their armour deserved the rest of the grave-its machine-spirits trapped in endless suffering.

Without the protection of his power armour and up against the traitor legions Grimnir was very aware he'd have to play to his strengths as his scout armour would be almost like paper to a bolt shell. Cover and a decent shooting position was paramount and he'd already picked out a spot. He would hide and shoot the traitors in the head and be ready to reposition, he'd let the engagement start before acting so he might have an easier time picking his targets. Running low he gathers his camo cloak about himself as he rushes to a ruined structure. Taking cover behind the wasll, Grimnir had an excellent view of the battlefield.

Tomasu rushes forwards. He could feel even his legs grow weary and he did not wish to start combat winded.  So, he runs at a slightly slower pace. More leisurely for a child of Chogoris as he, but it was a match for the fastest of astartes born of other chapters.

The other Noise marine shifts into cover behind a low wall and sights down the nearest battle brother. That turned out to be Cassiel, who as the slowest out of Draco, ended up being the closest when  Draco was attacked from behind. Cassiel withstands a withering wall of noise. Like Iovanus, it set his brain buzzing in his skull, but he stood firm and resolute. He would not fall to such blasphemous noise.

One of the Strikemaster's chosen, the one with the heavy rotary canon, sees that Hydrako was most likely the real threat to his Strikemaster. He hefts the gun towards the sky and it whirs to life. Hydrako finds himself in a field of tracer fire, but he had rocketed fast overhead, and the blue-green alpha legionnaire was not quick enough to trace him down with the heavy gun.

Serephan follows suit, moving on fiery contrails towards the tumult at full tilt. He hoped that this fight would not trigger his blood thirst again, for these were real heretics and he was even more emboldened to lash out with his genetic lineage at the arch traitors.

The other chosen, reacts to the second skyborn Draco. They were not like the noise marines, who simply attacked the nearest thing for the love of the roar of the guns; nor did they simply wish to kill and corrupt all around them as did the plague marines. They would attack the nearest threat to the master, and with extreme prejudice he aims his plasma rifle at Serephan. The shot went wide, missing Serephan by 10 meters or so. Even at that range the superheated miniature sun caused his autosenses to filter out a portion of the light.
...A shot like that could do some serious damage.....

Finally allowed to take on the traitors, Bleda runs forward with bolter at the ready in order to bring the Emperor's wrath to the heretics. He was now in a good position to unleash his psyker powers against the sorcerer whom he already marked as his own personal vendetta.

The plague marine in the rear spreads out to your left, crossing the free-standing wall with a single stride of its bloated boot. Landing on the other side with a 'slop' sound, if fires a single shot at the oncoming Hydrako. It had not taken the time to aim and the shot goes wide. The marine makes a gurgling sound from its vox grill.

Lucius?

The Strikemaster see's the incoming jump pack loyalists, and plants his feet. In one hand was his plasma pistol that hummed with anticipation. The other was wreathed in a power field that flickered around the talons like lightning.
He could see clearly that the carcharodon was intent on removing the king from the game board.
"Yes, Bring your fury. Lets see the same savage brute I saw who ripped his dead brother's jaw from his severed body. Yes. I saw that all on the pict feed. Your gene-father, Angron himself would be proud to see his lost company follow in his footsteps, if the blood thirsty maniac could feel anything at all that is." the Strikemaster yelled through his vox grill.

The second plague marine shambled forward and spied his own target. The other were focusing on suppression and the jump pack soldiers, but he decided to remove the devastator from play. His bolter snaps up and coughs out a single bolt at Cassiel. Cassiel, the slowest of Draco was caught out in the open, and his missile launcher made his a priority target.
The round hits him squarely in the gut. He could feel right away the toxic bite, but his astartes physiology was already fighting off lasting effects of netherplague.

Cassiel wasn't afraid as bolter fire erupted around him, or the shell pierced his armor and caused damage to his internal systems. He had been shot at before; he had been wounded before. He was a weapon of the Emperor, and drawing fire allowed the other members of Draco to close distance - he had seen what Hydrako and Lucius could do when they got close - they had just shown it again with the Xenos at the top of the pyramid. Although Cassiel wanted to fire at the terminator traitor, Codex doctrine directed him to preserve himself first; there would be another opportunity. Cassiel scrambled for cover and looked for a place from which to bring his artillery to bear.

Cyrax sighs in frustration, "The ones in the air. They are the ones you should focus on!" he tells his men, who were the chaos specific marines.
He raises his hand towards the sky and attempts to bring fourth a power to stop Hydrako, but that and keeping the warp portal behind them open was to taxing at that moment, and nothing happens.
"Damn you"

Initiative
Hydrako- 20 -
Iovanus - 16 - Pinned
Noise Marine 2 - 15 -
Sapiens - 14 -
Undying Legionnaire (2) - 14 - VANISHED
Grimnir - 13 -
Tomasu - 13 -
Noise Marine 1 - 13 -
Legionnaire 1 - 13 -
Undying legionnaire (3) - 13 - VANISHED
M'ra the Decrepit - 13 -
---Dais of destruction - 13 - CRATERED
Serephan - 12 -
Legionnaire 2 - 12 -
Bleda - 11 -
Plague Marine 2 - 11 -
Lucius - 10 -
Strikemaster - 10
Technomancer - 10 - VANISHED
Praetorian - 10 - VANISHED
PLague Marine - 9 -
Cassiel - 8 - 15/22 - Pinned
Cyrax - 8 -
Undying Legionnaire (1) - 7 - VANISHED

The sweep of lightening claws and the taunts from the Strikemaster sent Hydrako into a frenzy. He would eviscerate this dog and take his head as a trophy. His chainaxe roared over the shaking of the catacombs as he closed the distance. The teeth churned hungrily, ready to taste the vitae of traitors. With the vox down, there would be no orders, but he could see Draco picking their targets and going to work. He landed face to face with the Strikemaster and appraised him with deathless eyes. I will devour you traitor, and learn your secrets, he hissed.
The strikemaster watched the descent in sardonic silence.

The shots of the traitors were by no means accurate, at least as far as Iovanus was concerned, but the danger presented by their reckless offensive gave him cause enough to take cover and reevaluate his position. Still slightly disoriented from being out of time by about ten millennia or so, Iovanus nonetheless shook it off, and quickly popped out of cover to line up a shot on the next available target.

The noise marine nearest Hydrako briefly thought to come to the aid of the strikemaster, but then thought it was nothing he couldnt handle. In the meantime, he raised his esoteric weapon towards Bleda and unleashed a wall of sound. The aim was off and Bleda could only watch as the structure he took refuge in started to rattle and shake dust loose. You could hardly tell if it was the sonic weapon or the rumble of the collapsing structure.

The situation was evolving rapidly. I would need to trust these other astartes to handle themselves. I signaled two other ranged fighters-Bleda and Cassiel- to join me. I'd be able to reinforce this spot to hell and turn us into an invincible turret.
Seeing the relic appearing somewhat disoriented, I called him over. I new nothing of his own signals, but I had read some ancient pre-codex tactical manuals from the early crusade (the chapter library was bounteous) and tried to speak a language he might understand.
As they started moving in, my servo-arm and mechadendrites grabbed at debris, bolting, spot-welding and punching material together and turning the crumbling ruins into a puissant (if quite ugly) bullwark- all save for small strips which my servo-arm punched out at the last moment, providing a trio of murderholes for maximum defensive potential.
"Brother! Tactic Oregon, Argon Configuration. Objective Rattata."

Tactic Oregon:

Argon configuration:

Objective Rattata:

Keeping his profile as low as possible Grimnir takes a peek at the battlefield, taking it all in in but an instant. His skill and camo cloak making him all but invisible, he blended in with the lip of the wall as he eased the muzzle of his stalker bolter outfrom the confines of his cloak, the weapons scope hidden amongst the hoods shadow.
He marked his target, the sorcerer in terminator plate. This would be difficult, he doubted he'd take him down in one shot. The witchbolt round that he loaded wasn't desigfned to go through such thick plate so Grimnir aimed down the scope for a few seconds to ensure his aim was as true as possible. He held his breath, finger poised on the trigger...

Tomasu increases his speed, pumping his legs faster than the astartes physiology was meant to go. As he passed Bleda, he shouts out to him, "I dont like that sorcerer. He should be our priority.!" He crosses the field as fast as Hydrako just did and finds himself second in the chaos lines. He was on their left flank with just 12 meters between him and Hydrako; even less between him and the noise marines.....

The noise marine watched from behind cover as Tomasu blitzed across the field. This was just as dangerous to them as the jump pack astartes flying towards them. He turns around and finds the White scar in a range he couldnt miss. Tomasu finds himself ahead of the majority of the sound waves. Not completely out of the woods, he is assaulted with noise that rattles his hearing and distorts his vision. He maintains his footing as he finishes his move, but he was dizzy and his ears were bleeding.

The heavy weapon chosen aims at Serephan and fills the sky with a line of tracer rounds. Serephan was nimble enough in the air with the speed he had already accumulated to avoid the attack. "Take that blood angel down quick! before he gets to the Strikemaster!" he tells the other legionnaire.

Serephan continues to rocket at the chaos marines. He felt the urge to give into the rage in his gullet. He could not give in; not after what he had already done on Castobel. He find himself right above the whole dammed lot of them. Now to pick which one would die by his blade.

Taking cue from his fellow bodyguard. The other chosen marine raises his plasma gun and fires two balls of roiling, bluish-bright plasma at the blood angel. Serephan avoided them , but only just. His HUD flashes out heat warning and blinks red in alarm. Paint is boiled off his leg armor, leaving bare ceramite beneath. Close, however, was not close enough to be rid of the Blood angel.

Sensing that the sorcerer was the main threat and key to victory Bleda focused on him. Terminator armour or not. The Destroyer extends his hand towards the devotee of Slaanesh and with a crack of thunder blue-white bolts of electric energy shots forth. The bolt hits Cyrax and explodes outwards in a cascade of arcing warp-energy. The Strikemaster and his chosen couldn't dodge it. Bolts strike everywhere and fall just short of Hydrako.
After the fact, smoke rose from all of their armor, they were battered but far from beaten....
"Target the psyker!" the Strikemaster orders.

The plague marine, from a different warband than that of the alpha legion looks to the sorcerer for approval. With a nod from his wheezing helm, the Plague marine shambles forwards and fires a shot at Bleda.
The message was clear, Bleda is public enemy no 1, for now.....

Lucius IC

The Strikemaster was waiting for Hydrako to rush ahead. He had figured the blood angel would be his first opponent, but the carcharodon was just as good. By rushing forward he had made sure he could nigh untouchable by bolt, but by blade.....
He counters the move with his lightning claw like some psychotically active dervish, scoring several hits across Hydrako's torso and arm (Reaction?)
As he lands his blows, he responds to the draco squad leader through his gasping breaths.
"What was the point of ripping your ally to shreds? Even your blood-brother world eaters would hesitate before doing that, not for long."

The other plague marine moves forwards and follows his bile-brother, taking a single shot at the newly minted biggest threat. It was a good, well placed round, but all it does is shatter the cover between Bleda and the plague marine. He gurgled something incoherent in agitation.

Cassiel moves to Sapien and his newly assembled field fortification. The murderholes were perfectly designed for his missile launcher. He locks on to the marine with the plasma rifle and fires the krak missile. The missile flies true. The legionnaire was so busy trying to avoid Bleda's mind prowess that he didn't even see it coming. The missile hits him square in the chest. The force knocks him back, not as much as expected though. He ends up on his back and very still.....

The cataphractii sorceror moves up towards Hydrako, still smoking from Bleda's blast. He looked around the battlefield, looking for someone to run into a message.
Striaght ahead he see Sapien's and Cassiel behind some newly fortified cover.
"Fools!" He shounts, "You cannot hide from this!" he goads, raising a hand which shoots fourth 4 bolts of purple-black warp energy. The head towards the pair and peppers them both from a higher angle, negating Sapien's work thus far. (Need reactions)

Initiative
Hydrako- 20 - CC w Strikemaster - 11/23PSYCHIC CACOPHANY
Iovanus - 16 - Pinned
Noise Marine 2 - 15 -
Sapiens - 14 -
Undying Legionnaire (2) - 14 - VANISHED
Grimnir - 13 -
Tomasu - 13 - 12/19 - RUN - PSYCHIC CACOPHANY
Noise Marine 1 - 13 -
Legionnaire 1 - 13 - 13/?
Undying legionnaire (3) - 13 - VANISHED
M'ra the Decrepit - 13 -
---Dais of destruction - 13 - CRATERED
Serephan - 12 - RUN - PSYCHIC CACOPHANY
Legionnaire 2 - 12 - 32/? Prone, Stunned
Bleda - 11 -
Plague Marine 2 - 11 -
Lucius - 10 -
Strikemaster - 10 - 13/? - RETREATED
Technomancer - 10 - VANISHED
Praetorian - 10 - VANISHED
PLague Marine - 9 -
Cassiel - 8 - 15/22 -
Cyrax - 8 - 9/?
Undying Legionnaire (1) - 7 - VANISHED

Hydrako weathered the first blow of the lightening claw, feeling it drag through his plastron and ribplate underneath. His nostrils flared at the faint scent of seared flesh and the pain drove his chainaxe into a blur of motion in retaliation. The strictly offensive weapon first deflected an uppercut, intended to gut him, before blocking an overhead slash from the strikemaster. This left the Legionnaire's side exposed for a fraction of a second. A fraction was all Hydrako needed to turn defense into attack once more, and he stepped in close to bury the thirsting weapon into the ribs of his foe. A brilliant flash of of light saved the Strikemaster as the would be crippling blow was deflected by a powerfield. Teeth gnashed together in irritation and the blood flowing from Hydrako's mouth increased in response. What a disappointment you are, he tisks before drawing his powersword in his left hand. Our dead adorn our armour so they may lend their strength to their descendants. We care not for the views the civilised hold of our customs.
The strikemaster was no fool, the chain axe was dangerous, but it was the power sword that he kept his main defense against. He deftly  parries each and every attack from the power sword, but at the expense of letting the axe penetrate his defense. Chainaxe teeth tear chunks from his ancient battle plate. It appeared to be heresy pattern armour but was clearly supplemented by other cannibalized marks over the years. The force fiel only saves him from a 1/3rd of the total damage output.
"A world eater acting like an imperial fist huh? You make as much sense as the rest of your bloodthirsty kin"

Iovanus was impressed that the Astartes of this age were as capable in combat as his brothers had been, and resolved to join them in battle by letting his bolter howl into the air, depositing a volley of rounds at the nearest bloated target. Bolter shellas rage all around the 2 plague marines and Cyrax.
Cyrax and the original target stand resolute. Even when a bolt shell hits the center mass of the leading Plague marine, he simply acts as if he did not feel it.
The trailing marine instead ducks his head down, making sure not to take any stray shells.

He then moves up towards the nearer wall. Making sure if he did get hit he would have some obstruction between them.
"You forget your gifts from the plague father!" The other marine gurgles in a barely intelligible voice. "Do not resort to the tactics of the crusade!" he adds.

Sapiens surveyed the situation. Touching an ally would be sub-optimal, so he focused on alternate targets. The plague marines where a notable risk-their toughness rendered them nearly immune to bolters. For once, calculating trajectories and probabilities was mostly unnecessary-two shots where sent directly at center mass, burning plasma that ate through their armor as if it where crepe paper.
The plasma bolts strike its center mass. Burned armor would have melded with the flesh if it had not already been twisted by the ruinous powers already. For all its destructive power, the plague marine seemed hardly phased..

Grimnir?

Tomasu blinked to clear the blood from his eyes. His head was spinning and he could feel his bloodstream being pumped with combat stims to ward off the pain. The damage was severe, but he had lived through worse, not often, but still worse.
His blood rimmed rt eye, a permanent milky white from the destructive poison of a dusk wraith blade, shifted. A pupil came into focus, non exsistent 2 seconds ago. Frost coated his armor, hoarfrost it was called, but he called it the storm.
Sapiens, Lucius, Hydrako and Tomasu all felt the effects of a time shift. They seemed to move just faster than before. Even with the damage from the noise marine sonic blaster, Tomasu now had an extra defensive edge.

Confident the White scar was done fore, the noise marine who had blasted him in the face turned to gun down the other librarian on the field. He didn't know it, but they were brother with the same genetic father, vengeance was both their inheritance.
Somehow, the sound waves mean nothing to Bleda as he avoids any damage. The great khan was surely with him.

The Legionnaire who was still standing had 2 options before him, Cassiel and Sapiens. He chose the latter.
His rotary cannon spun to life and spit a torrent of chaos fueled ammo at the techmarine.
'Brrrrrrrrt!'
The cover is decimated by a barrage of rounds designed to reduce men and even light vehicles into paste. Sapiens makes sure to keep his less armored portions protected while the cover protected him from the rest.

Serephan was ready to drop in on the enemies and unleash his blood legacy on the traitors, but the incessant beeping of his HUD told him he had other duties to attend to first.
Tomasu was injured, even though he would deny it. His armor had already started flooding his system with pain suppressants and combat stims. And Cassiel had taken some damage as well. Since Tomasu was closer it would have to be him. He flies to his position and lands between him and one of the noise marines, the hellfire flamer in hand.
"Ive got better things to do than give you bandages today!" he says as he douses the field in a shower of flammable jelly. The area denial was instant as it caught flame and would not be stopped. The noise marine in front of him stood under a blanket of fire. It spat out a raucous symphony of noise, the only thing Serephan could make out was 'sweet meat'
Behind the noise marine, both the legionnaire and the unconscious one were on fire, as were the strikemaster and Cyrax.

There was no clear target for Bleda's psychic power with his brothers engaging the enemy in melee. It was instead time for join those brothers and get close.
He was getting close to the fight, but he wasnt there quite yet.....

Lucius burned the jets in his jump pack as a reflex, focusing through the din of battle on the duel between the damned Strikemaster and his battle-brother. In his right hand, a krak grenade seemed to materialize as he grabbed it from his webbing.
The strikemaster was focused on Hydrako. Lucius focused on a weak point in his armor's pauldron, where shoulder met joint. He charged forward, Draco's back banner flapping in the wind elegantly, speaking unsaid doom to these traitors...
The grenade explodes, causing the Strikemaster to straighten up and arch his back under the sudden shock.
"Cursed Worms!" he says in anger.

The tides were beginning to turn. The strikemaster knew it, it was now time to leave.
Lucius and Hydrako makes attepmts to cripple the strikemaster so that he could not leave, only Hydrako's axe hit him. Once again, the grinding teeth sparked off the strikemaster's forecefield.
"Its time to leave." he tells his men. Wither they heeded him or not was their problem.... He then took the final step through the portal and left the field of battle.

Contrary to orders, or perhaps some other reason, the plague marine ignored him completely, taking a few steps and firing a shot at Serephan. The shell blow out a chunk of armor from his left leg. It caused his knee to buckle but he held his ground.

Cassiel sees the Strikemaster retreat from Lucius and Hydrako, but the way Draco worked there were no good choices. Moving away from the brutal melee assault left him open to heavy weapons fire. Cassiel spoke a curse against the force field to allow his missile to penetrate.
The missile zooms at the nearest, most wounded target - a noise marine. The missile slams into the cover, blowing it apart in a shower of debris. It wasn't enough to stop the anti-tank missile from hit him in the leg at a diminished force.
He was clearly not expecting to be hit with that power from that angle.

Cyrax, the hated sorcerer, speaks to Hydrako as he shakes his head. "I told him you would not listen, now on top of his other duties he will be gunning for you. This is not over....."
With no other options, the sorcerer moves at a ungainly pace through the warp portal on the heels of the strikemaster. Once through and in the safety, he ends his spell, cutting off his minions from escape.....

Initiative
Hydrako- 20 - CC w Strikemaster - 11/23 - PSYCHIC CACOPHANY POSSABILITY SHIELD
Iovanus - 16 -
Noise Marine 2 - 15 -
Sapiens - 14 -
Undying Legionnaire (2) - 14 - VANISHED
Grimnir - 13 -
Tomasu - 13 - 4/19 - PSYCHIC CACOPHANY POSSABILITY SHIELDd
Noise Marine 1 - 13 - 28/? - FIRE, 1 FATIGUE
Legionnaire 1 - 13 - 13/?
Undying legionnaire (3) - 13 - VANISHED
M'ra the Decrepit - 13 -
---Dais of destruction - 13 - CRATERED
Serephan - 12 - RUN - 14/22 PSYCHIC CACOPHANY POSSABILITY SHIELD
Legionnaire 2 - 12 - 35/? Prone, Stunned, FIRE, 1 FATIGUE
Bleda - 11 -
Plague Marine 2 - 11 - Pinned
Lucius - 10 - POSSABILITY SHIELD
Strikemaster - 10 - 59/? - 2 CRIT - FIRE, 1 FATIGUE - RETREATED
Technomancer - 10 - VANISHED
Praetorian - 10 - VANISHED
PLague Marine 1 - 9 -
Cassiel - 8 - 8/22 -
Cyrax - 8 - 9/? - FIRE, 1 FATIGUE - RETREATED
Undying Legionnaire (1) - 7 - VANISHED

As Cyrax exits the field and leaves his and the strikemaster's minions to die, you feel a voice intrude on your mind. It was Muse.
"Mon'Keigh, we have an exit, I do not know how long I can hold it or how long this ancient pyramid will last."

Hydrako?


Initiative
Hydrako- 20 - CC w Strikemaster - 11/23 - PSYCHIC CACOPHANY POSSABILITY SHIELD
Iovanus - 16 -
Noise Marine 2 - 15 -
Sapiens - 14 -
Undying Legionnaire (2) - 14 - VANISHED
Grimnir - 13 -
Tomasu - 13 - 4/19 - PSYCHIC CACOPHANY POSSABILITY SHIELDd
Noise Marine 1 - 13 - 28/? - FIRE, 1 FATIGUE
Legionnaire 1 - 13 - 13/?
Undying legionnaire (3) - 13 - VANISHED
M'ra the Decrepit - 13 -
---Dais of destruction - 13 - CRATERED
Serephan - 12 - RUN - 14/22 PSYCHIC CACOPHANY POSSABILITY SHIELD
Legionnaire 2 - 12 - 35/? Prone, Stunned, FIRE, 1 FATIGUE
Bleda - 11 -
Plague Marine 2 - 11 - Pinned
Lucius - 10 - POSSABILITY SHIELD
Strikemaster - 10 - 59/? - 2 CRIT - FIRE, 1 FATIGUE - RETREATED
Technomancer - 10 - VANISHED
Praetorian - 10 - VANISHED
PLague Marine 1 - 9 -
Cassiel - 8 - 8/22 -
Cyrax - 8 - 9/? - FIRE, 1 FATIGUE - RETREATED
Undying Legionnaire (1) - 7 - VANISHED

Sapiens Scanned the Area for any Necron equipment that might be recoverable. But he recognised the situation these others where in-they where faced with the chance to defeat a fabled foe, though it might cost them their lives and their mission. He had been faced with this before, and luckily had had someone show him the path of wisdom.

Brothers. Honor before glory. And Duty Before Honor. Our lives are not our own-they are the emperor's.

He turned his helm in the direction of retreat. It would feel frustrating to them, and it might even anger his brothers. But in time, they would realize that this petty group of slaves to the ruinous powers where but a distraction.

Without any other obvious method of egress, the race to the exit was on.
Aware that they had been abandoned, the traitors began lashing out at anyone who was in the way.

"Go. Now." Hydrako orders. He and Lucius were already falling into a rearguard.

The rumble under your feet gets worse as everyone begins to fallback to the Eldar, a position only Sapiens had bothered to gain beforehand.

Cassiel grumbles, "How do we know that these xenos haven't abandoned us already?" he asks as he shuffles under heavy fire towards the exit.
"If they do I'll crawl from the rubble and chase them down whatever hole they hide in." Srephan responded in Mirth.
Tomasu lets his time dilation power end as he couldn't move fast while he kept the storm active. He then moves towards the exit point at speed, followed by the Sanguinary Priest. Serephan had the constant urge to hold the rear as well, but he needed to make sure Tomasu and Cassiel made it out without any more injuries. Tomasu's face was red with ruptured blood vessels from ultrasonic assault, and he could only guess what caused Cassiel's injury.

The chaos marines would not let it go without a fight. Already the marine with the multi-barrelled cannon had started hosing the area down with the intense torrent of heretical firepower.
Walls broke and chipped away next to the retreating Cassiel and Sapiens, Sapiens was using his heavier armor to cover Cassiel, and occasionally firing a return shot.
The legionnaire who had been thought dead already returned to his senses. It didn't take him long to figure out that thing had gone belly up as the strikemaster and sorcerer both were missing, and he was also ablaze. He felt around for a gun, but instead could only grasp a chainsword. He bellows a furious cry and rushes towards Hydrako and Lecious, fury akin to a cornered and injured rat.

Hydrako prepared himself to take the charge when the traitor's head jerked abruptly to the side. The fire laden heretic fell into the dust with a new hole clean in the side of his head.
The plague marine slowly stalked towards the exit flank, spitting disease embedded round from their rusted bolters. They were simply too slow to contribute to the issue of exit in time, so they contented themselves with taking down as many as possible.

That left the noise marines, who turned thier attention towards Lucius and Hydrako.
Beset by sound weapons from both of them, Hydrako and Lucius both feel capillaries burst and bones rattle loose. Both ears and eyes bleeding from both marines, Lucius retuned fire with his archaic hesh bolter while Hydrako rushed the other.
Bolt rounds slam into the gut of one, but his throat exploded outwards as a round from behind blew through his gorget and sprayed Lucius with blood. He dropped to the ground, gasping for air before laying still. Lucius was about to have to finish him off when it happened as his round had wounded him but not killed him, now he let the nature of his injuries end his life for him.
The last noise marine saw which was the wind was blowing and turned tail to run, But Hydrako's power sword cut power feeds on his power supply and his armor suddenly lost power. Outmatched, he died under the charcarodon's pummeling.

Bleda and Iovanus were the closest to the eldar, and therefore, the first to make contact. The Haemonculous, Ur'iss was waiting in thinly veiled annoyance.
"this isn't an easy task for the clown" she hisses, "Hurry up." she says.
Muse, the harlequin solitaire, was clearly straining with some sort of floating device, but before the androgynous xenos was wide open a tunnel into an inky black darkness. Stairs built from the local walls and rubble provided a passageway up to the entry.
"Please......Make it quick....." He/She says through each agonizing breath.

Ur'iss noticed Iovanus' mistrust of them, and Bleda's quizzical look at Muse's struggle.
"I'll go first. Follow me Mon'Keigh" she says before gliding over the steps and into the black. Bleda shrugged at Iovanus, before following in her wake. Iovanus then moved with trepidation bore exiting reality.
Tomasu, Serephan, Bleda and Sapiens showed up at roughly the same time. Rounds were still shredding the area behind Sapiens and Cassiel, but they were relatively out of danger there.
Tomasu looks at the situation, before letting the others know, "It's an opening to the webway, we should be safe in there. Safer than here anyways." he says before bounding the steps and into the black. Serephan visually triaged Cassiel, he was wounded but in no immediate threat. Once they found a resting place he could take a thorough look at both of them. Satisfied, he was next into the entryway. Sapiens motions for Cassiel to join him, with no other options and the ruins still collapsing, Cassiel followed, weapon ready.

After them arrived Lucius, Hydrako and Grimnir from the opposite direction.
"Did you-" Hydrako started.
"Aye" Grimnir cuts him off before anymore could be said.
With little more to be said they moved in as a team.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Muse let the power falter and bounded up the steps after everyone. Already the device the conclave had given her to access the webway from any location was faltering. She/he leapfrogs off the falling bridge way, before making a great leap into the shrinking portal......

The webway itself was.....unlike anyhing you had ever experience. The starry void was depicted in vivid purples and brilliant oranges, but the scene was distorting as if looking through water in motion. Muse blabbers on about the one time device that let them create a causeway into the subspace passage, but the topic was dry and concerned things like psycho-temporal resonance and wraithbone shifting, and other things you mon'keigh wouldn't understand.

Finally, after some 20 minutes of Muse keeping the silence away, the passage suddenly stops and you find yourself back on Talena's descent.

It was where the jungle met the sand caldera. Where the black pyramid had been was simply an empty pocket.
"This is where we part ways." Muse said abruptly.
"We need to make our way back to commoragh, there are loose ends to tie up and disgruntled allies to satiate." He says looking at Ur'iss.
"And what of us?" Tomasu asks. You were our ride here.
She rubs her chin, "I suppose we could take you there with us if you want."
"No" he replies flatly.

Before anything else could be said, the solitaire starts to recite a poem, or a legend, or something. Though you did not understand the words, somehow, you understood the meaning.